1850 American Gold Tycoon

Chapter 646: Stationing troops in Omaha

After a whole day of arguing with Montgomery Blair, Robinson was sure that Blair had no sincerity in negotiations.

The reason was simple. Although there were twists and turns in the entire negotiation process, after both sides had been talking for a long time, Robinson always kept lowering his bottom line, and Blair always agreed to Robinson's request after bargaining.

But once Robinson asked to sign a written document, Blair either avoided the question or said that the matter was serious and he did not have such great power and needed to consult the president.

"Blair has no sincerity in negotiations and is unwilling to sign any written documents. Everything he talked about was just verbal agreement." Robinson reported the situation to Liang Yao, "As you expected, Blair's negotiation delegation is just to delay time."

Sending McClellan to Omaha to reorganize the army has already shown Lincoln's attitude.

This Philadelphia boy who was less than 34 years old and was quickly promoted from a staff officer to a general in charge of a military force was by no means a mediocre person. Although McClellan's reputation in the army was not high at that time, he was not optimistic about McClellan.

But McClellan was one of the few generals in the Northern Army who was born in a formal school, participated in the Mexican-American War, and visited the Crimean battlefield. He had practical experience.

With this alone, McClellan has surpassed many Northern generals.

Historically, before the first Battle of Bull Run, McDowell took only one month to train 35,000 reserve militiamen of the Northern Army into a field force that could barely fight in frontal combat under the rain of bullets, which shows his strong organizational ability.

Such a person, regardless of his background, can stand out in any era as long as he is given a chance. If Lincoln had not been unable to withstand the pressure of public opinion, he had to let McClellan go out without sufficient preparation. In the Battle of Bull Run, the first major battle of the Civil War, the Northern Army might not have been defeated so badly.

"If we can't talk, then fight! Fight until they beg us to talk." Liang Yao's attitude was very firm.

After the Battle of Fort Sumter, the Southern Army never took large-scale military action against the North again. Liang Yao was not sure whether it was due to the low organizational mobilization ability of the South, the strategic conservatism of the Southern leaders, or the other intentions of the Southern leaders.

But he knew one thing, he could not pin the survival of the American Republic on the Southern Army.

Since Lincoln was unwilling to give up the Central Frontier and demilitarize the Central Frontier, he helped Lincoln demilitarize the Central Frontier.

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The headquarters of the newly established Frontier Military District was set up in Omaha.

Since the situation became tense, the departure frequency of the train station in this small town can even compete with the busiest New York Central Railway Station in the United States.

Although the capacity of the Omaha Railway Station increased sharply, there was no chaos at the railway station, and everything was still so orderly.

One train car after another of supplies was unloaded and moved into the newly requisitioned houses, because the warehouse in Omaha had been filled up a week ago. McClellan had to requisition civilian buildings near the train station for military use.

The city was busy, and the outside of the city was also bustling.

The young men who had just put on military uniforms dug trenches and set up artillery positions outside Omaha under the command of officers.

The faces of these recruits were full of relaxed and happy expressions, as if they were here for a picnic, not for a war.

The Northern generals who regarded themselves as the orthodox American army generally looked down on other domestic armies and generals of other armies. The so-called other domestic armies naturally referred to the Southern Army and the Western Army.

The federal government was immersed in an extremely optimistic mood from top to bottom, although the security alert in Washington, the capital of the federal government, had not been completely lifted at this time.

But almost all federal soldiers and civilians, including many federal officers, believed that this was only temporary. As long as the federal mobilized army launched an attack, the situation would be reversed immediately. The heroic federal army will end this civil war within three months.

Compared with the current temporary disadvantage, the Union Army, from generals to privates, is more worried about the war ending too quickly and not being able to gain military merit. As for defeat, most Union officers and soldiers have never really considered this issue.

Sobriety is sometimes painful, especially when everyone else is drunk and I am the only one awake.

McClellan has held many meetings to rectify the atmosphere of underestimating the enemy in the army, but the results are not good.

Long time without battle is the true portrayal of most Union troops. After all, Northern Army generals like McClellan who have inspected the Crimean battlefield, participated in two Mexican-American wars, and had direct contact with the Southern Army and the Western Army are a minority.

"General, Colonel Albert Ames of the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment reports to you." Colonel Albert Ames, who had just arrived in Omaha by train, came to the headquarters to report to McClellan.

"Well come, well come!" McClellan was very happy to see Albert Ames.

"Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, Lieutenant Colonel and Deputy Commander of the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment, reports to you." The adjutant who came with Ames also saluted McClellan with a not very standard military salute.

"You didn't graduate from a military academy?" McClellan frowned slightly and glanced at the well-mannered lieutenant colonel who couldn't even salute clearly.

"Teacher, Joshua is my adjutant. He is a well-known professor of modern linguistics in our hometown. He volunteered to join the army to quell the rebellion." Ames introduced to McClellan. Ames graduated from West Point University, and McClellan was his instructor when he taught at the school.

"Linguistics professor. Isn't this nonsense? You put all kinds of people in the army." McClellan said seriously, "This is a place for fighting, not a place for gilding."

"Joshua knows 9 languages, and he is also the most outstanding sinologist in Maine." Ames explained to McClellan. He knew Chamberlain. Chamberlain really joined the army with a passion, not just to gild the army.

McClellan's face lightened up when he heard this. He knew Chinese and was proficient in Sinology, which was more or less useful. He stood up and stared at the map, thinking carefully, and made a deployment for the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment: "Your troops will be stationed in the western suburbs, and I will give you 1,800 Maine militiamen, and you will be responsible for training them."

Ames was his student, and McClellan knew Ames inside and out. With Ames' ability, it was still possible to complete the training of 1,800 people in a short period of time.

At present, Omaha City is heavily armed, with 40,000 troops. With 40,000 troops and Mason's Brigade stationed in the Kearny Fortress Group, McClellan's troops no longer have a numerical disadvantage against the Western Army.

But McClellan was still worried, because his troops only had quantity, not quality. Among his 40,000 troops, there were only 7,000 volunteers, and the remaining 32,000 people were basically militiamen with little combat experience and lack of training. The Western Army's troops were an elite division reorganized from the original Western Brigade.

This is why McClellan was very happy about the arrival of the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Volunteers, especially organized volunteers, were troops that he could directly deploy into combat without spending too much effort on training. What's more, the commander of this volunteer regiment was his student.